Oddworld Lore: The Brewmaster Of The Glukkons (Soulstorm) 

In connection to the Brewmaster's interest in Occultism, it's worth noting that the Tear X-Tractors are called Sacrificial Altar's in the game's files. This suggests that the Brewmaster's motive may not be profit, but a form of financing and enabling his own religious radicalism.

The character design and animations truly fascinate me. I can't help but marvel at how the glukkons are animated, their exaggerated jaw and lip motion is impressive. I had to double check that the original really came out in 1997 as even that is extremely impressive for the time.

The Brewmaster's suit looks like he might be able to slide his right arm/leg out of it to use as an arm.

Those symbols on the chalkboard can also refer in the Brewmaster interest in Alchemy, wich in itself can be connected to occult.

The brewmaster has a certain german accent. In germany we speak the letter 's' very different than in english. Its always sounding sharp, even when we speak it in a soft manner. It has always some bite in it. The pronounciation of the 's' is literally how germans would pronounce it. Source: Myself, since I'm german

I find it interesting how in Oddworld: Soulstorm we learn that The Brewmaster is seemingly one of the most important figures in Magog society due to how big a role he serves to the Glukkons. I suppose, in Soulstorm 'The Brewmaster' is known by that name due to how important that role has become. Yet, perhaps in Exoddus the character is known as 'The Brewmaster' for the opposite reasons, due to how unimportant he is. Just a weird loner working in the basement with one job, the other Glukkons don't even bother knowing his actual name (assuming he has one) and just calls him by his role (unlike the other Glukkons who all have proper names). Also the thought occurred to me while editing that maybe Morguer is a title too, but I'm not sure.

I think another fun thing to note was the fact that, well, when Aslik and Morguer arrived to confront the Brewmaster at the end of the game? They start off confident, insulting him while the door remained closed, but once the door opens you can see the fear in their eyes. Hell, they even had to hype themselves up by putting on a stern façade before entering his office and speaking to him. It's one look, but it speaks volumes. They are absolutely terrified of him, and the last Glukkon I knew that gained that kind of fear was Molluck himself. Edit: Okay I just got to the part where you mentioned that exact thing, but I'm gonna keep my post the way it is because I really like the scene XD

I feel like the Exodus Brewmaster would've been a "Pud" on the Glukkon hierarchy, not interested in achieving personal power through playing the game but instead far more focused on perfecting his art form of choice. He'd have gained his position through his results but wouldn't be respected by his peers. By contrast, the Soulstorm Brewmaster could be seen as an entrepreneur, taking his idea and going into business for himself. Far more financially savvy than his previous counterpart. Just looking into the contrast between the Brewmasters of the two games.

The symbol on the chalkboard isn't just occult, it's ALCHEMICAL, which means it's likely tied to his craft. Alchemists used a lot of symbols to depict reactions, elements, and recipes. It was basically chemistry filtered through a mystic lens.

I honestly love the injection of character into the Glukkons. They always had some, but the new installments really bumped it up to eleven. Really hoping we see Mullock go through some sort of “They see me as a bad guy? I’ll give them a bad guy!” character arc. Not becoming a good guy, but leading a private slig army around as a corsair against the Glukkons. You’ve brought it up before that the Sligs are stuck in servitude to the Magog cartel, I think an interesting story arc for Mullock would be to see him make a grab for the Slig queen. His plan being to deprive the Magog cartel of guards through stealing away their Sligs. Without the brews or guards control, the entire Magog cartel would be forced to come crawling back to Mullock or else watch as their mudokon workforce overthrows them. If they want to blame him for revolts, he might as well get paid for it!

For the Brewmaster it was an easy choice. Do I believe my brew that has worked flawlessly for decades without any issue suddenly stopped working out of nowhere? Or is it that guy making up stories about magic slaves?

Perhaps the 'occult symbols' on his blackboard are actually ancient mudokon symbols. The brewmaster is 'researching' them to better understand the mudokons in order to make his brew more effictive. Capturing the mudokons by ensnaring their minds hearts and even..... Souls.

My theory is that the fact that brew is so effective and causes anyone who doesn't drink it for 48 hours to die is due to the fact that the Brewmaster used some kind of black magic or made a deal with some entity in the world. occult, also because in the era of alchemy after the schism it is said that the Glukkons tried black magic to gain fame. Probably the ones written on the brewmaster's blackboard are symbols in an ancient Oddworld language that he may have studied over time, as he has so many books and is so cultured.

Finally a video about the Brewmaster. It's funny, compared to Exoddus's Brewmaster, Soulstorm's Brewmaster was in a "higher" position in terms of influence and threat. I always wondered if this new Brewmaster was more highly ranked than Molluck... I was thinking about it, Molluck was a representative of the Magog Cartel, he was a high ranked member, and favorite Lady Margaret's son. He was feared by his fellow colleagues and other Glukkons from the Magog Cartel. But now, judging by what we actually know about the Brewmaster, it's confusing, because he was just called "The Brewmaster", the same way Molluck was called "Molluck The Glukkon", like two very important big men. Thanks for this video, pupbenny. It's still a pleasure to learn more important things about the lore of Oddworld. Greetings from France. :)

I like to imagine that the original brewmaster was himself addicted to the brew

We need Soulstorm Mourger next. My favourite, he seems almost the most reasonable Glukkon. Your previous vid on him really didn't age well compared to reality of the actual game. I really like how different he is from other Gluks by not being an arrogant unpleasant snob. He doesn't get irritated by getting called, he doesn't dismiss the idea of revolts, he actually listens to his employees, ponders, calculates, much different from the initial "Baron" vid. It's like Soulstorm doesn't do justice to his personality, it contradicts his first impression, for someone so calculated and methodical he'd wanna keep his security sligs well paid and loyal when he hears and seriously considers the idea of revolt, most especially after his operation got blown. He clearly is someone with enough foresight to assume his sligs might turn on him so he should've taken precautions to prevent the chauffer's trick. Alas it was not to be, perhaps his calculated and intelligent stance was there only for as long as he's not under pressure.

Great video about Brewmaster from Soulstorm. He's a great villain character in the Oddworld series

I'm glad you made a video about my favorite glukkon and generally my favorite character from the whole oddworld. I also noticed that the brewmaster is trying to oppress the Mudkon race, just like Himmler the Jews or the Slavs, not to mention that Himmler was Hitler's right hand man, so I think the brewmaster is Lady Margaret's right hand man. And believed the brewmaster is very bigger villain.

If they ever make a sequel to soulstorm the general of the barracks from Exodus needs to show up he will be the Queen's Royal army protecting her at all costs, A revolution is about to begin for ape and his people!

The Gluken's vestigial "feet" are thier arms. The location of the arms are strange, but if you notice, all Glukens have two vertical cuts in thier coat, looking like pockets, that allow them to extend thier little arms out from inside. What I don't understand is why they button thier coat so far down that they severely restrict thier legs. Perhaps it is a status thing, to show they have no need to run around from place to place. People come to them, they prefer sedentary work. High fashion aside, there is nothing physically stopping a Glukkon from running or even wielding a small weapon if they had need to do so. Just something interesting to note since people seem to think thier coats mirror thier actual physiology.

hopefully in the future they will show us scenes of glukkons eating, reading or doing other manual activities! In fact I imagine that their shoe soles are retractable that way they stick their fingers out or even use their tongue & teeth or just tell them to have someone do the work for them XD

intriguing character comparison, inspiration analysis and historial facts! They really detailed his lucrative personality to twisted levels! It's like those unpleasant lay sadistic tutors but at the economic level of gastronomic production!

Definitely Morguer was my favourite Gluckon design, and had the most intriguing allure in his character. I wish he got more of his story flushed out.

Dammit... Got me wanting to play the whole series. Good video .

Been waiting for this video for a long time. Thanks friend

I'm a bit sad I don't like this shift in the Brewmaster's design/characterization as much as maybe I should? Idk, I kinda liked the subtle implication in the original he was like Lulu in that he was almost a Glukkon out of place, someone outside the norm of his society, who nevertheless rose to a prominent position due to his unique fascination and competency with putting effort into his product. He's still a great antagonist for Abe to have to overcome given the change in story, but I kind of miss the more eccentric and self motivated interpretation he had originally. Part of that is just in general not being a fan of the more self serious direction Oddworld has taken, I feel like in the quest for a more 'cinematic' version of the story something that was uniquely Oddworld was lost despite it's qualities and The Brewmaster is an example of that.

I really adore your videos and knowledge about the series. I also really love your character analysis videos and loved the stranger's wrath outlaw ones.

suddenly, my job doesn't seem so bad.

Informative and a fun watch as always.

although his accent sounded french i think he was ment to be german, he clearly is something like a nazi "scientist". and the fact that he is the main villain or endboss now is crazy

So many books (shows one book). Never change pup.

I love the glukkon art deco style with everything andhow they kind of make everything look like them, they really did a good job with all the characters redesign especially mullocks sing glowing good eye

" it's not fair.... we had twice zeee flavour" Was the only thing missing about Brew Master

I know this isnt the exact point of the brewmasters giant tooth, but what if its the result of him sometimes using his teeth to get task done or operate some thing. Like when you cant pry two lego peices apart and you lost the brick remover and your nails arnte long enough, sometimes you gotta work with what you have to get things done.

been waiting for this video!!!!!!

ngl at first, I thought I was going to not like this version of the Brewmaster but as you spoke, I realized this is the best version of this character it's a shame he died so soon (or did he ???)

At first I thought the symbols on the board were alchemical, which they might be, but they very well might be occult, since if I remember right, the brew in Exodus was making Mudokins sick because it was made from the ancestral remains of ancient Mudokins. So if nothing else you might be studying occult stuff to see if he can make the brew better, maybe by completely infusing their souls into it. Also as far as the accent, I think they were going for that classic crazy scientist voice, with a bit of a German accent added in. A few examples I can think of being the Professor from Futurama, and the Doctor from Superjail.

Hello good morning pupbenny 🇬🇧 glad to hear you're back Oddworld has such great Lore it's grotesquely funny and terrifying at the same time 🤩

Amazing vid

I like these remakes of you old videos, you just took your videos and upgraded them. Oddworld lore 2.0 .. can't wait to see the next one

Being in the military, i drink soulstorm on an hourly basis lmao

Morguer: * watching TV * Aslik: * taking nap * Brewmaster: * working *

The brew master's accent sounds like a mix between German and French. Like the drawing out of words like French, but the breathyness of German. I can't exactly describe how it's German, but it's definitely there

You should a industrious species series and do a native species series like you did for the scrubs and paramites. Not to be needly

Noting the whole interests in the occult. I believe Mulok is the only Gluckon that believes that quarma is a thing. Probably after being humbled by Abe he may have considered he doesn't have all the answers. He even makes the correct assumption that there something is going on with the brew after I leaves the factory and it has to do with Abe Mulok is wiser after the first game.

What I am interested about is the chalk drawing on his board. Maybe it has some connections to Glukkon Alchemy.

Concerning the chalkboard- the main design is evocative of something occult or alchemical. however, there is another design in the top left- a ring of N conected with single or double lines, partially erased. that one is a chemical formula- the N being nitrogen (presuming their annotations are the same as ours) bound to other atoms via single bonds (around which rotation within the molecule is in principle possible) or double bounds (which are rigid). I am no chemist but I believe one of the compound in chocolate as well as caffeine have similar structures in the real world. would have to look up the design in the cutscenes as well as the actual chemical formula to be sure though so don‘t quote me on that

Before playing the game, going by what I heard and read, I was still of the opinion that I preferred the original Brewmaster, but after playing the game myself I've come to the conclusion that I can't put either one as second to the other. They are two different archetypes, and I think they both work spectacularly in their respective role.

Soulstorm seriously has some of the absolute best CG animation I have ever seen, and while I think that Lorn Lanning is overall a bit of a hypocritical hack, his skills in character design, animation, and world building are admittedly unmatched and I would love to see him make more content along these lines.

I like this channel so much!

Late to the party, but the occult symbol on the brewmaster's board and the "induced loyalty" you mentioned got me thinking, what if whatever biology (?) that allows mudokans to perform their magical abilities, like possesion, is what the brewmaster is manipulating to create the "induced loyalty" in the first place, like how viruses hijack the dna of a cell to produce more of themselves, soulstorm brew could alters whatever allows mudokans to induce possession and essentially do that to themselves, thus becoming more suggestible/loyal. As for what kind of accent the brewmaster has, I think that in both his original appearance and Soulstorm they were going for an austrian/german accent. The original played it up to the point where it was comical and becomes dissimilar to an actual austrian accent, while the Soulstorm iteration downplays it and keeps it more grounded to fit the more serious tone of the game. The reason for this being that germany is famous for beer, and the use of the massive metal stills used to make beer fits the Glukkons industrial aesthetic more than French wine barrels imo.

Man this is so detailed

i Love the glukkons desine.... the fact that from they walk on there hands and its mostly empty air from the waste down under those suites.

The channel I didn't know I needed

That game was a reboot doune right

I hope we could get videos on the two other Glukkons. Aslik and Morguer considering they were the two other antagonists in the game beside Molluck.

I noticed that the blackboard the Brewmaster was studying showed what looked like a spell circle of some kind. Perhaps the Glukkons retained some of their shamanistic beliefs.

PERFECT~

I think glukkons sometimes use their legs as hands. Notice the vertical pocket-like slits on some of their suits in Soulstorm.

Do one on Aslik, he's basically the Railroad Tycoon of the series

I really like that they're kind of pulling a switcheroo with the brewmaster and have everything he was doing that he was presenting as science turned out to actually be the Gluckon equivalent of magic. I think that's what's going on with those occult symbols. He's not really a scientist per se. The work he does just so happens to occasionally intersect with the world of science. I mean the stuff is called Soulstorm that name alone implies a bit of mysticism

Wish we've gotten a bigger part with 'im, but he was great! Molluck is bein' groomed to be the big bad of the whole Quintology (so far) but, as you said, the overarchin' villain of Soulstorm is the Brewmaster! I wonder if 'is actions will affect future games, or at least mentions. And I had in mind 'is board had occult symbols 'cause of the Gluck's arcane past, maybe The Brewmaster just pushed it beyond what is normal for a Gluck (even in secret)

Finally got Oddworld Soulstorm 🙌🏻💪🏻

The biggest mistake the Brewmaster does, is he focuses on his formula and does not consider the possibility that a Mudokon could have invented the cure. This is likely his arrogance, the only thing he can consider is that his formula might not work on Mudokon rather than a Mudokon who could have beaten him in his own speciality. This is probably also why tainting the Brew works. None of the survivors at the Brewery consider that the recipe could have been altered or that a Mudokon could succeed in sabotaging the machine and thus the non-functional Brew is getting delivered to the "workers" after the good ending.

So I am well aware this video is over a year old, but there is a reason given in game why the Gluckons rarely give the thought that the brew isn't working, or that a cure was created, and instead chose to blame Mullock. In the opening cutscene with Big Face and Abe, it lasts only 5 seconds, but Big Face curses the Gulockons and specifically Mullock. Cursing them to be "misdirected", hence I think this curse is what prevents the Gluckons from believing Abe exists, and that the brew doesn't work, and instead blaming Mullock. The reason I think this also has to do with the Brew itself and the Bad ending. The bad ending, where the train blows up the brewery entirely, is due to the fact that without the brew, all the Mudockins will perish, because the brew is no longer available. If Mullock was TRUELY using Mudockin slaves to blow up the brewery, then all the Mudockins employed by him will die, so him using them as an army to overthrow the cartel by attacking the brewery makes no sense, because his army would be dead shortly after. Hence it wouldn't make sense, but the other Gluckons under the spell fully would happily go along with that train of thought.

Aren't Glukkons known for their alchemy? Like they did some alchemy a long time ago and it resulted in a disaster?

This guy had no business swindling his Slig Horde. But it's pretty good that he did.

One thing to say that they said within 24 hours the withdrawls will kick in which would mean that if they take enough they can even get away. Also there are theories about why Abe did not die from the brew many believe it is because he got a huge amount of it stashed but I believe that even if he had it before it is said that he died in the previous game and was bringen back to life by big face which could have technicaly cured him I mean the brew was ment to kill them if they ran away and I think it took abe at least a day or two before he got back to the farm to destroy it.

Very interesting how they potray gluks as having qn interest in oddworlds version of free masonary

Id say the brew master has a new york type accent. Definitely sounded that way in the tape.

I think the accent of the brewmaster is that of a mixed Russian dialect. I get this because the Russian Empire used Vodka as a way to keep the peasant population in control much like how The Gluckons used the brew to control the Mudokuns

Brewmaster did nothign wrong! Look at his profit margins! It's all that sluk-gluk Moloch's fault I tellz ya!

Regarding how Glukkon's use handheld objects... If you look at thier suits, most of them have sideways chest "pockets" These are slits in their suits that allow them to use their little arms. They're choice NOT to use their arms is a status thing... Having hands free divices isn't more practical. it's a luxury. They could just as easily use thier hands, just because their hands are INSIDE the gate of their legs does not mean they don't work. This isn't a T-Rex situation, its more that they veiw working with their hands as manual labor. Something below thier station. Just like they COULD run, if not for the constrictive suits, but why should they run? The world arrives at thier time, not the other way around. All the physical limitations perceived of Glukkons are self-imposed. including their hatred of Nature and the old gods. They were once mystics and wizards, in tune with the universe, but the appearance of the hand on the moon insulted them. The idea that they were below the Moduken offended them to the point they rejected the natural order, and in an act of rebelion chose to destroy nature, and create a synthetic reality where THEY were on top. The inversion of nature is thier goal because they disliked thier place in the natural world. Thus thier contempt for the natural, despite thier deeper understanding of the supernatural. However, due to the supernatural being a vestage of the old order, it is kept hushed. The idea of a super mutant Mudokon shooting lightning sounds outragous to most, but to the elite, they probably know EXACTLY what Abe is, and what he is doing, and no doubt have plans to stop him. Remember, one of the central design philosophies of Odd World, is that there is always a bigger fish. Pyramids inside pyramids. The Glukkon's greed make them powerful, but it also makes them short sighted. No doubt higher powers exist who have the cunning and humility to control the modukens. Beings who like the Vikers and Sligs benifit from the inversion of the natural order, who benifit from letting others take the gold and the glory.

Yeah. I'm also getting a slight German accent. His tone is also pitched up giving him a more nasal voice.

Another thing I noticed is that Brewmaster's concept in Soulstorm has preacher-like clothes, it may be just me but that could be another connection to occultism

9:30 Another odd design with Glukkons is that their lower teeth are more visible, while humans tend to expose their upper teeth more. 15:20 I think it's still a French accent. Reminds me of the Mole from Atlantis.

I'd like to think that SoulStorm's Brewmaster is one of the few Gluks who found progress by rediscovering their ancient roots. In the Brewmaster's case, the alchemy which his people once practiced. And the SoulStorm brew is a combination of science and alchemy.

Mans Doctor Mendle if he tried making a soda

Your video is perfect especially in details but l believe the most important part is on 4:21 . That is a history lesson for today's society.

From french drink aficionado, to german mind control scientist

The cult symbols are called runes

Also . I’m rebel glukkons. Like ones that fight agent the others to make a better future for all on oddworld

7:30 looks like some Full Metal Alchemist stuff to me.

I don’t understand why the old oddworld glukkens where villains . Shore they enslaved the modokens . But it was less of a slave thing because both party’s got something in return . Modokens got homes jobs food water . The glukkens get workers friends and if time get hard food . If it gets to that part . Maybe the old glukkons did not hate the modokons but sited see them as equal beings . And they wanted to give them a equal places in the world

Can you do a video about how Abe walks

I'm honestly not a huge fan of the Glukkons from Soulstorm, mainly because they had virtually no impact on the story. In Exoddus Abe comes into direct contact with all of the main Glukkons, and even the Brewmaster, who is a minor character, confronts Abe in the bad ending. However in Soulstorm Abe never comes into contact with any of the Glukkons (barring Molluck's blimp). If you got rid of all of the Glukkon cutscenes (except the expository brew video), the story would remain the same. Like you said, they all die in both endings. I really wish the Glukkons in Soulstorm had a more direct impact on Abe's journey and he had to confront them in some way, or even confront them as he goes to each place. That being said, thank you for making this video! Your insights on the Brewmaster were very interesting.

I look forward to another video about the bosses from stranger's -Blisterz Booty

The new Brew Master reminded me of the Nazi from Raiders of the Lost Ark the guy who had his face melt.

I have a question for an odd world fans out there wouldn’t in new n tasty mullocks plan to use mudokons as a new snack and mass slaughtering them wouldn’t it have interfered with the brew masters buisness since that was his main product was the brew

for creatures that dont have arms i feel like us humans could easily wipe the floor with them

How am i only just now noticing that the Brewmaster looks like Heinrich Himmler lol

15:51 The Growmaster

I can only describe the new Brewmaster's accent as "generic western-to-central-European evil person" voice

Listening to the Brewmaster’s voice, I kind of feel that it’s a sort of fusion of a German and French accent.

I may be late, but I've been watching the gameplay of Soulstorm again and the more I think about it the more overconfident and arrogant I think the brewmaster is. The whole thing about blaming Mollock doesn't make much sense. I mean it kinda does when you take into account arrogance and the belief that the brew is infallible, but unless Mollock can make brew himself it doesn't make sense why he would try to attack the brewery. He would need it as much as anyone else to keep his slaves in line. And with knowledge about the meat farm being common knowledge, the making part doesn't make sense. It just makes me think that he's so laser-focused on blaming anything other than his brew or Modockans because he's so arrogant and overconfident in his product that it cannot be the case.

I know this sounds messed up but doesn't the Brewmaster in Oddworld Soulstorm have a few similar character features to Dr. Fauci.

The brewmaster is based on Heinrich himmler, down to the occultism and experiments and all.

heinrich himmler Ha I was thinking that myself; how he looks like an SS officer.

The brew in soulstorm is also %%. we see that in train.

His ascent is norigon accent